Dr Helen Mason- 'Our Dynamic Sun'

The Sun should be at the peak of its activity cycle, but actually it has been rather feeble. Several solar space observatories have been watching the Sun over the past few years: SoHO, Stereo, Hinode, SDO and most recently IRIS. We now have high spatial and spectral resolution images of the Sun, with a high cadence. This talk will review what we have learnt about the active Sun, in particular what we know (and don't yet know!) about solar active regions and flares, and how this solar activity affects the Earth's environment.

Dr Helen Mason is at University of Cambridge, DAMTP, and Assistant Director of Research. Helen's group has a very high international reputation in the field of solar physics with particular expertise is the analysis of the ultraviolet (UV) and X-ray spectrum from the solar atmosphere. The group carries out both theoretical simulations and observational work.

Over the past three decades, she has been involved in many solar space projects: Skylab, Solar Maximum Mission, Spacelab and YOHKOH. Over the past decade, she has been working as a co-investigator on a major ESA/NASA project - the Solar Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), which was launched in December 1995 and is still operational.

Helen has engaged in a multitude of outreach activities, in particular for school children. She gives talks at schools about the Sun. She has worked closely with the Millennium Maths Project , in particular the MOTIVATE project. She has also worked hard to encourage more females to study science and mathematics. Helen has participated in stands at Royal Society Summer exhibitions.

The Vectis Astronomical Society meets on the 4th Friday of every month, except for December. This event is open for non-members to attend. The speakers come from all over the country and give a presentation for around 45 mins. We then stop for a break with tea and biscuits, which gives an opportunity to mingle and chat.

The second half of the evening sees a presentation by one of our regular members showing us what to we could see in the sky over the coming month.

This always involves some great pictures projected onto the large screen. Entry to the event is free of charge, although as we run as a charity, donations are always welcome.

Newsletters are available at the entrance for a suggested donation of £2.00

Please see our website for contact and membership details.